Lost
by natalierg
Summary: Emily Sanders was not expecting to be stopped on her run through the woods by a mysterious boy dressed in black. She was not expecting anything that was to come from meeting this boy. Who is he? And why did he ask if she liked One Direction...?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay guys... Sooooo this is my first fan fiction EVER so just tell me if it's really bad or if I should write more or if I should change something...**

Hffff. Hfff. Hfff. My breathing was so loud and heavy I couldn't hear anything else. I'm surprised I didn't scare the group of deer twenty feet in front of me. I was running my fastest ever through the forest behind Long Park and Battlefield High School. My feet were hitting the trail hard and I was just getting lost in the scenery. But that's where I messed up. I wasn't paying enough attention in a bad part of town. (Not that Haymarket is a bad area it's just I was running through a forest alone and there are creepy people everywhere...) All of a sudden, I saw something big move behind the trees. I started to freak out and tried to run even faster but I was already maxed out and I was getting too tired to run much farther. The next thing I knew, there were rough, yet gentle hands holding my arms behind my back so I couldn't turn around and see my assailant.

"Please don't scream," I heard a masculine voice say as a hand was placed over my mouth. "Nod if you won't scream," said the voice. I nodded slowly, wondering what would happen if I did scream. The hand was removed from my mouth but my hands were still held behind my back. "Do you like One Direction?"

Surprised by the random question I answered, "No, yes, I mean yes I like 1D..." "Ummm... I don't to be nosy or anything but you are in the middle of kidnapping me and you would ask such a ridiculous question why?"

"It's not a ridiculous question and I am not kidnapping you," replied the voice.

"Well is this how you normally greet people where you're from, then?" I asked.

"If I was a real kidnapper I would have probably hit you for that remark but I am not kidnapping you and I would never hurt a fan of One Direction," replied the voice with a slightly amused tone. "Don't freak out," he said as I felt the zipper on the pouch on the back of my running shorts move. My iPhone, car keys, and house keys were in there.

"Go ahead and take them! I really don't need my phone anyway but I would appreciate if you would at least leave the car keys because it's not even my car!" I shouted nervously.

"Shut up!" The voice yelled. " I am not a thief either!" I felt a piece of paper slip into the pocket and the zipper was moved again. " Now I have a gun pointed at your back so you better run and don't turn back," said the voice with an authoritative tone. As he said this I felt something hard press into my back. My heart started racing and I barely mumbled out,"Okay," and started running as fast as I could. I didn't look back, but as I reached my car, there was still one thought running through my head, who was that?


	2. Chapter 2

**Hopefully this is a little longer and maybe better? **

I was happy to find both my house and car keys along with my iPhone in my back pocket. I unlocked my car and sat down on the driver's seat. I reached into my zippered pocket and found the folded piece of paper that my mystery assailant had placed there. As I unfolded the paper I saw that the letter on it was typed. "Hmmmm," I wondered, "Did they type it so i wouldn't recognize their hand writing?"

Dear Emily, "Wait... Whoa.. Creepy.. How does he know my name?! How did he know I was going running in the forest?!" I thought this to myself, starting to really freak out, but I continued reading the letter.

I am soooooooooo sorry for scaring you. I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't necessary. It's important that you don't know who I am or at least for a while. Eventually I will show you who I am and then you will understand everything. Hopefully you will then forgive me for scaring you. Can you meet me tonight below your bedroom window as soon as your family is asleep? Please be there. I will be waiting. Oh and don't call the police and don't be scared of me.

From,  
Someone Unknown  
P.s. Until you know who I am, you can call me James.

When I got home I went upstairs and got in the shower. _Should I meet him outside tonight? Should I call the police? Should I tell my parents about it?_ I was so unsure of what to do. Everything I had been taught about strangers went against meeting him but my instincts were telling me that he meant well and that I would be making a really big mistake if I didn't meet him. "Urrrhhhh!" I moaned.

"Emily, are you okay?" asked a voice just outside the bathroom. I completely forgot that my friend Alicia was coming over today to **sleepover**. I would have to tell her about James, then.

"I'm fine!" I yelled. "I'll be out in a sec.!"

"You're wet," remarked Alicia.

"Wow! Really?," I replied," I had no clue showers could do that to you!"

"Sarcasm is greatly frowned upon in this country," my friend commented.

"I believe the word you are looking for is cannibalism," I answered. (Note to readers: Don't freak out on me.. It's a quote from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...".. which is called cannibalism, and that my dear children is frowned upon in many countries.")

"Fine," sighed Alicia, giving in, " What do ya wanna do? We can play Wii or Ripstick or Tandem (this is a two person bike) or climb a tree or watch TV or sing.."

"Let's Ripstick around the neighborhood."

We went to the garage and grabbed the Ripsticks and left out the side door. As we started down the hill I asked Alicia what she wanted to talk about. "I got nothing," she replied.

"Okay then. Umm.. Yeah I kinda have something to talk about... Sooo.. " I said and I told her my story. When I finished, all Alicia did was stare at me with her mouth wide open. "HE WANTS TO MEET YOU AT YOUR HOUSE TONIGHT! HOW DOES HE KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE?!" she yelled.

"I don't know. I was wondering the same thing but at least since you're here it will be a little safer when I meet him because you can watch from the window," I replied.

"Fine," sighed Alicia, "Have it your way but I think you should call the police. Don't blame me if you're kidnapped and never seen again."

"Thanks for the reassuring words. And if he wanted to kidnap me he would have done it on the trail."

"What do you think he wants?'

"I really wish I knew..."


	3. Chapter 3

For the rest of our ride Alicia wouldn't stop asking me questions about my secret assailant.

"Are you really going to meet him? Do you have any idea who he is? How does he know your name? Why didn't you run away in the forest? What does he want with you? Why won't he show you who he is?!" she asked.

"I DON'T KNOW!" I shouted, but then I immediately apologized and said, "Sorry for yelling but I am just as confused as you are right now so don't ask anymore questions."

When we got home we went to the basement and played Wii and talked about our plan for when I was supposed to meet my mystery assailant. We then figured out that Alicia would be in my room with the window open and the lights off listening to our conversation and watching what happens. She was not supposed to speak and we thought it would be best if she tried not to move either.

I looked at the clock on the DVD player. 10:27 pm. My parents should be going to bed any minute now. Right after I thought that, my mom poked her head in the basement and said, " Emily, your dad and I are going to bed now. Are you girls sleeping down there?"

"No," I responded, "We'll be sleeping in my room."

"Okay good night!"

"Love you, 'night!"

Alicia and I went upstairs and got dressed in our PJs just in case my mom came in to check on us and wondered what we were doing. At 11:30 pm Alicia shut off the light and opened the window. I grabbed a flashlight and snuck down the stairs hoping that they wouldn't creak.  
I left out the side door on the garage and went around to the front of the house. I turned on the flashlight and saw a figure clad in black sitting on the steps in front of the second front door. "James?" I called out quietly. The figure rose and came toward me.

"Shhh," he said while still walking towards me. "Let's just sit on the steps and talk for a second." I did what he asked and followed him back to the steps and sat down next to him. James smelled faintly of a warm amber scent. "This is going to be really weird and really hard but I want to get to know you better and be your friend."

"Ummm, okay I guess?" I replied. "You are one of the strangest people I've ever met. I mean who greets someone by sneaking up on them in a forest and holding their hands behind their back?"

James laughed aloud and said, "Well apparently I do but can we just move on from that now?"

"Fine. What do you even want to talk about?" I asked.

"How about we start with stuff about you and then I will tell you a bit about myself," responded James.

"Okay, as you already somehow know, my name is Emily. My birthday is in August and I am 17 years old. I have lived here for two years and I go to Battlefield High School. I have a sister named, Isabelle who is 14 years old. I am in the Marching Band at school and I play flute in concert band and piccolo in the marching band. I like Harry Potter and animals and music. So yeah, that's basically me."

"I can't tell you my real name yet, so for now you are calling me James. I am 19 years old and my birthday is in September. I like singing and I am actually pretty good at it. I'm not going to tell you anything else right now out of fear that you might guess who I am."

"Why can't I know who you are?"

"You wouldn't understand if I told you why right now."

" You are so full of mysteries. You seem to mean well so I will try to get to know you to, if you'll let me. Right now you aren't saying much."

"Alright. Do you want to go on a walk around the neighborhood?"

"Sure! I love walking in the dark!"

But then I heard out of the window above us, "Emily! Don't go anywhere alone with him!" And James took off at a full sprint down the road.

"Alicia! Look what you've done!" I screamed. I sat down on the steps frustrated and noticed a piece of paper on the concrete beside me. I quickly unfolded it and read it.

Dear Emily,  
If you are reading this, somehow our meeting was interrupted or you chose not to come meet me. Which ever one it was I want you to come to Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens Williamsburg this Saturday night at 6:00pm. Meet me in front of Griffon. Here is enough money to pay for a ticket in case you don't have a season pass already. I hope to see you there.

Best Regards,  
James


	4. Chapter 4

Fuming, I went around to the side door on the garage, went up the stairs, entered my room, grabbed Alicia by the hair, and dragged her down to the basement. "ALICIA! LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" I yelled. "JAMES TOOK OFF RUNNING BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! WHAT HAPPENED TO LETTING ME DO WHAT I WANTED AND NOT CARING IF I GOT KIDNAPPED?!" I panted out of exasperation.

"Well gee SORRY!" she yelled back.

"Fine. Whatever. It doesn't matter anyways. I'm meeting him at Busch Gardens this weekend for Howl-O-Scream and you are not coming with me."

"You trust him?!"

"Yes, I think I do. I don't know why but something is telling me he means well."  
"Hrngh nif mrrrhhh."

"I'm so glad you are supporting me in my decision."

Alicia just sighed. We dropped the topic and started to set up our beds for the night. They consisted of multiple sleeping bags and blankets. When we woke up in the morning we had a nutritious breakfast of poptarts and then Alicia left at 1:30pm. I went to my room and flopped onto my bed. I just laid there thinking. Who is James? How did he know I was going running in the forest? SHOULD I trust him?  
It was Saturday so I was going to meet him that night. I was really nervous so I went outside to calm down. I grabbed my bow and my quiver filled with about 5 training arrows and 3 hunting arrows. I have a 2.8 acre yard so I just hunt for crows and rabbits and squirrels in my very own yard.

I started out towards the side of the yard where the most trees are and just as I was aiming at a squirrel with one of my hunting arrows I heard a voice from behind a tree ask,"So are you coming tonight?" I immediately turned towards the voice and shot the arrow into the ground right in front of the tree that I heard the voice behind. "I take that as I no," the voice, who I of course knew was James, called out. He walked out from behind the tree dressed in his usual black attire, complete with a ski mask and hoodie.

"Do you always dress like a robber?" I asked with a smirk.

"Only when I see you," he replied with the same amount of sass.

"Oh so I'm special then, eh?"

He chuckled. "Sure. Special."

"Why can't I see who you are, anyways?"

"Ems, we have been over this a gazillion times! You will know who I am when the time is right!"

"So you are dressing like this to a public, family place?"

"Of course! It's Halloween so I'll fit right in!"

"Ugh..."

He sauntered up to me and handed me my arrow saying, "I believe this deadly weapon is yours."

"Yeah."

"So are you coming?"

"Yes I will come."

"Good. I will see you then." And with that he walked away.

I put my bow away and went back inside. I got changed into comfortable clothes for Busch Gardens and then just laid down on the bed and drifted off to sleep while dreaming of a certain hooded mystery boy.

**By the way, I know my chapters are kind of short right now but they will get longer after Chapter Six..**


	5. Chapter 5

"Ahhhhhh..." I yawned as I woke up from my nap. I felt so refreshed. I took a few minutes to stretch and then I got off the bed. I looked at the clock. 6:05 pm. "Oh my gosh!" I yelled. "I'm already five minutes late and I haven't even left the house!" I was supposed to meet my mystery friend, James, at Howl-O-Scream at 6:00. I ran down the stairs shouting to my mom, "I'm going to Busch Gardens with a friend! I'll be back at midnight!" and I grabbed an apple and ran out the door. I was so hungry that I ate the apple in no more than 10 seconds, a personal record.

I only live 20 min from the amusement park so driving there wasn't a problem but that meant I was going to be 25 min late. I wondered if James would actually wait for me or if he would think that I wasn't coming. I didn't need the money he gave me in the letter, $150, because i already had a season pass. I arrived at the park and was surprised to see that the entrance lines were relatively short for the time of day that I was coming at. I prayed the cars in front of me would move as fast as they ever have and in about 5 min I was in Preferred Parking searching for a space. After I parked, I ran out of the car, found a line for entering that had just opened up, gave the lady my card, and scanned my fingerprint. "Welcome to Busch Gardens," the screen said.

"Phew," I sighed as I walked into the park. Griffon was all the way in the back of the park so I took off running towards it. I didn't need a map because I had gone to Busch Gardens so many times before. Out of breath, I arrived at Griffon. I saw, standing in front of one of the orange covered lamps, the familiar figure of James but dressed in a dark blue,instead of black, sweatshirt with the hood pulled low over his face and almost perfect jeans without any rips. He was also wearing neon green basketball shoes which were nice for a change from his typical dark apparel.

"Hey Emily," James said as he walked towards me.

"Hello my mysterious friend," I replied. James stopped right in front of me and I could see that he was again wearing a ski mask.

"So do you want to ride Griffon first or should we hit the haunted mazes?" he asked.

"We can start with Griffon," I answered and we entered the long line for the amazing orange and blue ride. We talked a little while we waited in line but it was kind of awkward because he was so secretive.

"So ummm.. What's your favorite color?" I asked trying to stir up conversation.

"Blue. You?"

"Purple. Do you play any instruments?"

"Can't tell you. I already know you play flute and piccolo. Anything else?"

"Piano and guitar. Do you have any pets?"

"Can't tell you. Do you?"

"Two cats. I give up on this conversation!" I said as we boarded the front row of the ride. "Have you ever ridden Griffon before?" I asked him.

"No.. I've never even been to Busch Gardens before. I'm not usually in this state, let alone this country!" he answered.

"Ok well it's my favorite ride, besides the Hulk at Universal Studios. I hope you enjoy it," I told him as the ride started to go around the bend and up the hill. We came to the top of the hill and as we hung over the edge I looked to the left at the bay. I could see the ghost fleet and I poked James to show him, but he wouldn't move. "Oh my gosh! James are you okay?!" I yelled. He wouldn't move and then we started to drop.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I heard him start yelling. I started to feel really bad for choosing to go on the roller coaster, but after all, he gave me the choice sooo... He stopped screaming when we got to the top of the second hill but then he started all over again at the drop. I could hear him panting when we got back to the exit.

"I'm fine," he wheezed as we got off the ride and went to see our pictures. I looked like I was thoroughly enjoying myself but luckily for James you couldn't even see his face. "Alright, time for a haunted maze?" James asked, finally breathing normally. "Sure!" I answered and we headed towards the nearest haunted maze, which happened to be the scariest in the park. While we were walking to the maze I noticed that the person walking beside, me who was supposedly James, was taller than me but the boy I had talked to the other night was not. "Two different people?" was the last thing that went through my mine before we entered the maze...

**Please write reviews so I know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

I could here the distant screams of the people in front of us as we entered through the cut up tarp hanging from the doorway. I'm okay with haunted houses and stuff like that. I mean I don't spook too easily but they still scare me and get me on edge. Don't they scare everyone to some degree? I tried to keep calm as I walked past the arms reaching out at me from the walls. Yes, that's right. The ARMS reaching at me. Just arms. Bloody arms. Bony arms. Hairy werewolf arms. Very unnerving, but as I said I tried to keep calm because even though James seemed nice enough I didn't want him to feel like he had to comfort me or anything... Just as I was thinking this, a bloody, half-dead person walked out from behind a wall and scared the heck out of me. "AHHHHHHHH!" I screamed. James put his hand on my back trying to comfort me and I shrugged it off. I wasn't trying to be mean I just am not really a touchy feely person and I did not need his hand on my shoulder. We continued walking through the haunted maze and after a few more screams (okay, fine, many more screams) we were outside in the cool autumn air.

"That wasn't too bad," James said to me, still shaking, as we walked towards the next maze. "Sure," I said, "yeah not too bad."

"Somehow I don't believe you, but okay." As he said this, a creepy figure dressed in some sort of cape came stalking towards me.

"James can we walk a little faster?" I asked nervously.

"What you don't want to meet this fine fellow who is following us?"

"No, that's okay. I can live without meeting him," I said as I surged forward at a brisk pace. James ran to catch up with me and we entered the next haunted path. This one had a sort of junkyard/alley theme with stacks of tires and chain link fences and small fires burning in random places. Yet again, I could hear screams in the distance along with the sound of a **chainsaw. **There is nothing I am more scared of than out of control fires and chainsaws. I started panting and shaking and freaking out.

James looked at me and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied, my voice wavering. I kept walking and started to see bloody hobos jumping out from behind tire piles. Then, as I moved forward, farther in front of James then I thought I was, a bleeding bald guy walked out from behind a dumpster with a chainsaw. He revved the chainsaw and I started panting and shaking harder than ever. He walked towards me and I started backing up farther and farther until I ran into something warm, large, and soft. I screamed, but then looked backwards and saw that it was just James. However, before I could step away from him the chainsaw guy was directly in front of me and started to move his chainsaw towards my arm. I screamed bloody murder as the chainsaw touched my arm and I felt something moving. James wrapped his arms around my shoulders and chest and pulled me closer to him. I didn't care to pull away because I was still screaming my lungs out even after the bald guy had left me to go terrorize the next person. James held me tight long after baldy left us and I stood shaking in his arms.

After I finally stepped away from James I looked back and saw him grinning like a maniac. And then I thought, "_Wait, I can see his mouth... So I guess he took off the ski mask..." _

"So we finally know what Emily is afraid of," James said.

"Shut up," I replied and I reached out and grabbed his hood to pull it back so I could see his face. But as I was grabbing the hood, James grabbed my wrist, clucking and said, "Uh uh. I guess you noticed that I took off the ski mask, but that does not mean you get to see the rest of my face. DO NOT TOUCH MY HOOD AGAIN."

With that, I backed off and we started walking forward again and more creepy, bloody people walked up to us moaning and yelling. At one point, someone ran out from behind a dumpster and I swear I jumped 6 feet in the air. When I finally made it back down to Earth, James grabbed my hand and gave it a small squeeze, but didn't let go. I was so on edge at this point that I really didn't care anymore. James didn't let go of my hand until we got to the end of the haunted maze. I folded my arms across my chest and kept walking towards the next one. They're called mazes but they're just normal paths with scary people. I mean they can't really call them haunted houses because they aren't.. They could be buildings or alleys or just your typical paths.

We got to the maze and I let James go in first this time. There were the usual creepy people, but this time there were people under wooden structures reaching out at our feet as well. I was so tense walking through the creepy environment and busy watching the people grabbing at my feet that I didn't notice the girl sitting on top of the wooden structure. "DON'T IGNORE ME!" she yelled as I walked by. It surprised me as much as it scared me (Which was a lot) so I wrapped my arms around James to try and calm down a bit. Even if it was a stranger in front of me I probably would've done the same thing. (At least this is what I told myself...) James kept walking forward as if he was ignoring the fact that my arms were wrapped around his waist.

After a little longer he put his arms over mine and we continued on through the haunted path. Eventually I pulled my arms out of his grasp and away from his waist. Soon afterwards we came to a section of the maze that had strobe lights and chain link fences. There were people in hockey masks behind the fences shaking them really hard and making them rattle. Every time the strobe lights went off, it was pitch black and you couldn't see a thing. Then, the next thing you knew, there was a fence directly in front of you and a hockey mask right in front of your face. At one point, the strobe light went off and I ran straight into a fence. I screamed at the top of my lungs and as soon as I could see again, I ran towards James and buried my face in his shoulder, crying as we exited the maze.

When I finally calmed down, we started walking again, but this time it was towards a snack stand, not a haunted maze. We bought a bag of caramel popcorn and sat down at a picnic table to eat it.

"So I guess haunted mazes aren't your favorite?" James asked me.

"How did you know?" I responded.

"Lucky guess?"

"Ha ha. Very funny," I said as I stuffed my mouth with popcorn. Caramel popcorn is one of my weaknesses and I was sooooooo hungry.

"Gee whiz! Slow down," James said as he took the bag off the table and turned around and started eating it.

"Hey!" I yelled and I reached over his shoulder at the bag, dragging myself halfway across the table top. He kept the bag barely out of my reach, so I went around to the other side of the table to try and get it. James put the bag behind his back as I reached for it and I kept trying to get it even though my ribs were pressed against his shoulder. He brought the bag just into my reach and I grabbed it, but he held on to it as I tried to pull it back. While I was trying to get a hold of the bag, James put his free hand under my chin and pulled me closer to his face. I could smell his breath, which of course smelled like caramel popcorn, as he pulled me in closer and kissed me.


	7. Chapter 7

It took me a moment to realize what had just happened and then in a matter of seconds I was sprinting towards the park exit. I didn't even look back to see if James was following me. I got to my car and fumbled with my keys as I tried to unlock the door. I heard James scream my name while I opened the door and sat down in the driver's seat. I turned the radio up really loud as I pulled out of my parking spot. I could see James running down the long line of cars but I was already driving away fast. My mind faded into the music as I left the park. I didn't want to think about what I did. I mean I guess it wasn't a bad thing.. I mean.. I didn't know. I was so confused. I just remember trying to get the popcorn and getting closer and closer to him as he held it behind his back... And then his lips touched mine and my brain took a second to kick in, but then I was running. Running away from a kiss. My first kiss. Great. So my first kiss was with a complete and total stranger. A really sweet, taller than me, good smelling, cuddly stranger. Was he really that much of a stranger?

I drove into the garage and took a deep breath. It was 11:30 pm. Wow. Time had really flown by while I was with James. I quietly walked into the house and up to my room so that I didn't wake my parents. I slipped my shirt and jeans off and put on a t-shirt and sweat pants. I crawled into bed and pulled the sheets and blankets over my head. I was completely exhausted so I fell asleep almost immediately.

I was running through the woods behind Long Park and BHS. I was so intent on running that i didn't notice a dark figure come up behind me and clasp their hand over my mouth. Everything was happening the same as it did the first time. BANG! BANG! BANG! He told me not to look back. I was just too curious, and as we know, curiosity killed the cat. This cat looked down and saw three bleeding circles in her stomach. Everything was happening in slow motion as I collapsed and hit the ground with a thud. The worst part was, when I looked back I saw the face of my worst nightmare. Tyler Bieser. My elementary and middle school bully. I looked up towards the top of the trees and saw him walk up to me. "I told you not to look back, Stupid," he said as he raised his gun at my head and fired.

I woke with a start in a cold sweat. I sat straight up in bed and reached over to turn my light on. I was panting hard. Tyler had never physically bullied me, just verbally. It was him and his evil friends, Sebastian Teubert and Rayvon Patrick. Luckily, I got away from them in seventh grade when I moved from Yorktown to Haymarket. I hated him soooooooooooo much. I decided if I ever saw Tyler or his friends again, I would beat the crap out of them. They were part of the reason I had zip, zilch, zero, nada self confidence.

I looked at my Hello Kitty ice cream alarm clock that I'd had since first grade. The red numbers said 6:00 am. I might as well get up. I put on a pair of skinny jeans and my BHS cross country t-shirt and sweatshirt. I loved my purple sweatshirt. It was soooooooo fuzzy! As I started to make my bed, I noticed a piece of paper taped to the outside of my window. "Great" I thought. "How am I supposed to reach my arm out my window and up to grab that?" I went over and opened the window. I stuck my arm out and tried to grab the paper, but just as I had thought, I couldn't reach it. I twisted and turned and stretched and reached until, finally, when I was half way out the window, I grabbed the note.

Dearest Emily,

I am sorry for the way things ended last night. I didn't mean to hurt you or scare you with that kiss. I hope I haven't ruined our friendship (if there even was one to begin with). If you still want to be with me then I will be at PEV's Paintball Park at 12:30 today (aka Sunday).

Fondly,

James

**Sorry guys! I know this is a short chapter but I figured it was better than nothing for now!**


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